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🔮 Exponential View #558: Davos & reinventing the world; OpenAI's funk; markets love safety; books are cool, robots & AI Squid Game++

Azeem Azhar and Nathan Warren
Jan 27, 2026
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This post originally appeared in Exponential View.

“Between 2010 and 2017, three fundamental inputs to human progress crossed a threshold—and the rules of the game quietly changed.”

Hi all,

I just got back from Davos, and this year was different. The AI discussion was practical – CEOs asking each other what’s actually happening with their workforces, which skills matter now. At the same time, I saw leaders struggling to name the deeper shifts reshaping our societies. Mark Carney came closest, and in this week’s essay I pick up his argument and extend it through the Exponential View lens.

Enjoy!

Davos and civilizational OS

Mark Carney delivered a speech that will echo for a long time, about “the end of a pleasant fiction and the beginning of a harsh reality.” Carney was talking about treaties and trade but the fictions unravelling go much deeper.

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Azeem Azhar's avatar
A guest post by
Azeem Azhar
AI and exponential technologies.
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Nathan Warren's avatar
A guest post by
Nathan Warren
Senior Researcher @ Exponential View Exploring emerging technologies and their impact on society.
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